118 THE CALIFORNIA 



many or more hands in the manufacture of our own 

 product. It can easily be done. A large number of 

 persons are interesting themselves, in good earnest, hi 

 the raising of silk, and the next season will witness a 

 large development of this business, especially now that 

 we have in California a silk factory, and a home market 

 for all the cocoons which can be produced. In this 

 connection it is all. important that proper soil is selected 

 for the cultivation of the mulberry. On this subject, 

 Prevost remarks, in a communication to the UNION : 



" The mulberry will grow most anywhere in Califor- 

 nia, but has a decided preference for a rich, deep, light, 

 loamy soil. Such soil will produce as much food from 

 one acre as you would get from three or four acres of 

 other soil. Then calculate the great economy of work, 

 etc., and the great profit. We have hundreds of thou- 

 sands acres of such soil in all our valleys in California. 

 I know plenty of it in our fine valley of San Jose, but 

 I have remarked it particularly and more generally in 

 your Sacramento valley. The quantity of silk that can 

 be raised there will be immense, as it does not matter 

 if the lands are overflowed when the trees are once 

 started. 



" I have news from the different localities in our 

 State, where I have sent silkworms' eggs, and every 

 where, where they had fresh mulberry leaves to give 

 the worms, they have all succeeded. 



u It would take a long letter to enumerate all the 

 profits that will be derived from the fact of our manu- 

 facturing our own silk. 



